Uh... there's no lemon here, but there's a lime scene at the end, so... hope ya'll don't mind.
"Lord Hokage, what remained of ROOT has been accounted for."
The ANBU are the rarely seen bunch of ninjas in Konoha for obvious reasons. Their common identifying features would be the porcelain mask they are wearing, standard black and grey uniform as well as the tattoo on their left arm. But the most important feature is the mask, as they show the ANBU's identification. Depending on what animal the mask is painted, it will also be an ANBU's codename. So should one encounter an ANBU wearing a porcelain mask with the design of a dog's face, then there is a high chance of the ANBU's codename being Dog. However, Danzo's little band of misfits are different from their legitimate brethren. They are without identity, leaving their mask blank white, porcelain with no identifying features. They are normally seen wearing cloaks over their uniform, which is also different from the ANBU.
The one kneeling before the Hokage is not an ANBU, but a ROOT operative. He, he is a male, is raised and trained within ROOT to be one of the most excellent soldiers that they could produce. In ROOT, he holds the rank of captain, which is more or less similar to the captain in the ANBU. Not only their masks and uniforms, but their identification is also different.
"Well done 1." Sarutobi Hiruzen nods, pleased by the report. 1, One, is the captain for all ROOT operatives that Danzo had trained. Last night, a platoon of ANBU from Hiruzen's own choosing, infiltrated and assaulted the base of ROOT which is located deep in an underground facility right underneath the village. All ROOT operatives were given the chance to surrender, but due to their training and loyalty to Danzo, they retaliated with full force. Both sides suffered casualty, but his ANBU were better trained. His ANBU's original plan is to secretly arrest Danzo in the assault, but that mission objective failed when he managed to flee in the midst of fighting with several of his men. The ROOT operatives that were captured, eventually, surrendered.
Hiruzen made them swear loyalty and spit out whatever they could about Danzo's plan, but his former teammate is one smart fellow. Danzo has seals placed on the tongues of his men, preventing them to reveal anything related to him and ROOT in general. This was later solved by some of the best Fuinjutsu specialists that Konoha has to offer. But it was a hard process to remove the seal, as it turned out to be bloodier than expected; even he had to step down and use whatever knowledge he has about Fuinjutsu to help. It's at times like these where he regrets allowing Jiraiya a Sanin's travelling rights. But what is there for him to not regret?
"The remaining members of ROOT have sworn loyalty to you, Lord Hokage. We are your knife and yours to command." 1 says monotonously, another product of his teammate's action.
"No, you won't be my knife. I have the ANBU for that." Hiruzen starts talking, shaking his head. "From now on, ROOT will be a unit of its own that specializes in all the things that an ANBU does but it will be more active in dealing with international conflicts rather than national ones. You won't just be my knife; you will be my cavalry, assassins and informants that only answers to me and no one else."
1 stays silent.
"I will be giving you control over ROOT, responsible for supervision and training of its members. You are free to assign your own delegates in the way you deem fit." Hiruzen's old eyes are as sharp as an eagle's talon. "You do not do things for Danzo anymore, but for me and the village."
"Yes, Lord Hokage." The cloaked ROOT captain vanishes in thin air, leaving nothing behind aside from his residual presence that eventually vanishes too.
After watching the ROOT captain disappear from his sight, Hiruzen silently gestures an ANBU to appear before him, standing next to him. "Sparrow, inform your squad that they will be having a mission tonight." Hiruzen's normally kind and gentle eyes are now the opposite of that. "You will be hunting a snake, so prepare."
"Yes Lord Hokage." Sparrow disappears, much like the ROOT captain who was here before.
Several knockings are landed on his door, just as he expects. "Enter, Shikaku."
And Shikaku enters, a brown paper file on his hand. "We finished it boss, everyone was questioned and you'll be surprised at what we found out."
Hiruzen accepts the document that Shikaku gives him, placing it on his desk. "Please spare me the time to read this document, just tell me the important bits now."
"Long story short, you were right in suspecting Orochimaru of having spies within our ranks." Shikaku's bored expression turns grim. "Short story long, he did have spies in our ranks." He let the meaning sink in, and Hiruzen catches it instantly. "They committed suicide right after we finished interrogating them, Ibiki did everything he could but what he managed to cough out from those we brought in wasn't enough to give us any intel on who's working for Orochimaru. I asked Inoichi to probe their brains, but he's not good working with dead bodies. But, what we got is still valuable. Places, people outside of Konoha and certain assets that are related to Orochimaru are all listed in the report, I suggest you only go over them if you're not looking to spend your time reading the entire thing."
"So after all of this, you're telling me that we got nothing aside from Orochimaru's old base, his former contacts and sunken assets that may or may not be useful?"
"That's not all." Shikaku immediately speaks, calming Hiruzen a little bit. "Remember when I said that I asked Inoichi to probe their brains? The thing is, he can't really do that."
Hiruzen ponders. "And how is this a good news?."
"Inoichi said that he could not access their minds, as if they have these 'mental block' that prevents Inoichi from accessing them. Your former student's a smart person, and he took this into account. Smart, but not that smart." Shikaku grins. "I gathered some more people I suspect that might have an involvement with Orochimaru under the guise of 'mental check ups'. It'll be like your normal every day psychological meeting with a psychiatrist, except that we have several Yamanakas hidden on the other room behind a one way mirror that we managed to make look like a normal mirror perform a mental probing jutsu to make sure whether they have a 'mental block' in them or not. If they can't access their mind, then that means our subjects may be involved with Orochimaru and then we're bringing them in for questioning."
Hiruzen nods, listening to Shikaku's plan really reassures him. "Good, continue with it and please, find whatever you can about Orochimaru. It's bad enough that Danzo's out there roaming in the wild… the last thing we need is for the both of them to meet up."
"Ah…" Shikaku's face fell, his confident look fading away.
"…" Hiruzen aims a look at him that says 'explain'.
"You won't like it." The Nara states bitterly. "One of the guy we brought in, we're a hundred percent confident that he's working for Orochimaru, muttered out something about an old hawk before he passed." Every hair on Hiruzen body is slowly standing up. "…I knew what he meant immediately, which brings to why I'm still here instead of walking back home preparing to receive another earful session of nagging from my wife."
Shikaku scratches his head while shaking it simultaneously.
"Danzo's involvement with Orochimaru is more than just ROOT." The Nara states seriously. "It's about something greater. Tell me boss, you ever heard of the Red Dawn?"
"Akatsuki?" Hiruzen mutters out.
"Yes, Akatsuki… Biju hunters from what we managed to cough out from a more 'willing' subject we had." Shikaku mumbles quietly, a little bit too quiet for a Nara. "We do not know anything, but when that one guy who mentioned Danzo before his death spoke, I immediately ask Ibiki to focus the others' interrogation on Danzo. Results are written in there, but I'll spare you. In short, Orochimaru was a member of Akatsuki and somehow, Danzo is related in all of this."
"That's all?"
"Sorry to disappoint you boss, but that's all." Shikaku shrugs. "The others were already biting their tongue before we could even ask them about anything more. This means that whatever connection that Danzo, Orochimaru and Akatsuki has; it may or may not be involved with hunting the Biju." The Nara sighs, shaking his head. "And the last time I check, Konoha has one Jinchuriki…"
Hiruzen stays quiet, pondering a lot of things in his head. Until he speaks again. "This needs to be contained." He says firmly. "The safety of Naruto-kun is very critical… but we cannot do anything that may trip Orochimaru's remaining spies further. If I were to pull Naruto out from the shinobi program…"
"Then they'll get suspicious, especially without knowing whether those spies are really working for Orochimaru or not." At Hiruzen's questioning look, Shikaku elaborates. "We're still not sure of how big this Akatsuki is, boss, but if a person like your former student joined it, I'll say that it's filled with several big-shots that might even be a legend of their own. Who knows what kind of influence they have over simple spies?"
Hearing Shikaku's reasoning immediately makes Hiruzen take that reason into mind. "Still, something needs to be done."
"And I'll leave that to you," SHikaku concludes. "I can't really do much about that."
Hiruzen nods. "Thank you for coming, Shikaku. You are dismissed."
The Nara closes his eyes, yawning before muttering, "Troublesome."
Chakra exhaustion is not a pleasant. Not so very much. And hearing this coming from a chakra monster such as him actually means something.
Naruto gasps for air, struggling to maintain his breathing as he could feel his lungs burning from over using too many chakra. Chakra is energy, it can't be seen and can't be taken from out of nowhere. It comes from the body, released and will eventually be gathered again into the body, using it as a filter mechanism to get most of the impurities out.
It's still a topic that's up for debate, but the chakra that's inside a person is actually not pure chakra. Just like the same thing with oxygen, having pure concentrated chakra running inside your body is deadly for you, which is why there's such thing as chakra potency in a person. Since chakra is energy, a very easy to manipulated one at that, it can only be transformed. And as a ninja, he is able to transform into the ninjutsu that he has been practicing for the past five hours.
He's perfectly aware that his ninjutsu is not the best, Sayuri's efficiency is still far superior than his in terms of ninjutsu. And that reason is more than enough to make him try to remedy that. He needs to train in order to be more efficient in ninjutsu, not just taijutsu. With a little bit of high ranked jutsu in his arsenal, he's satisfied to know that once he masters at least one of them, his combat efficiency will up drastically. But, as a result of practice, he's currently overheated.
The human body is so much like a machine. If it's continuously pushed from its limits, it will overheat. Way past that, then it will break. The difference is that you can fix machines, but you can't do the same on the human body. Sure, there are surgeries, but not quite close.
He makes his way, hardly, underneath the shade of a tree. He's currently in one of the public training grounds allowed to be used by all ninjas and even academy students. Since it is such a public place, condition is not at the best, but it's more than enough for him to train his jutsu at. He reaches into his pack to grab a water bottle filled with, well, water. He proceeds to chug its content until the very last drop in one sitting, impressive considering that it's nearly two liters worth of water.
Once he emptied the bottle, he slowly leans his back on the tree in a seated position, twisting the cap back close. He's tired, and he's done enough training in one day to make a normal academy student faint. Maybe even some genins.
He reaches for his glasses which he keeps safely inside the front pocket of his pack, placing them over his eyes. He sweeps his hand through his hair, letting droplets of sweat flying around in all direction. His undershirt is completely soaked in sweat and he considers that wearing it any longer will give him a cold so he takes them off. Now shirtless, he proceeds to relax his body by sitting down underneath the shade of a tree.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa… damn son! No one ever told me that Konoha became a central babe point!"
"Ugh… Are you seriously doing it now?"
"Aw… he's not really your type?"
Three women, girls, young ladies, dressed in their own style of clothing are approaching towards his direction. Naruto blinks as he glances to the new visitors to get a better look at them.
The one on the right is the tallest of the bunch, and the most cheerful looking one too. She's several foot taller than him when he's standing, wears a tan leather jacket with a tight long sleeved navy top underneath it, the ones normally worn by ninjas, a skirt that's too short to be called one, but thankfully she's wearing a pair of matching black leggings to match with her equally dark skirt, a pair of green ninja sandals, her utility pouch is visibly strapped on her hip to allow for easy access when reaching for tools, she has a long brown hair that's tied to a long ponytail up-do, meaning that her ponytail is actually pointing upwards instead of going south, and currently, she has a wide grin on her face and her brown eyes are gleaming. Naruto notices the forehead protector on the girl's forehead.
The one in the middle is the shortest, most petite looking girl of the group. She's feet shorter than him, probably only reaching his shoulders at max when standing. She wears a navy blue high-collared trench coat with multiple zippers that acts as access for, presumably, pockets that are stitched into her coat. She wears a very high pair of maroon socks, ending just above her knee level reaching her thighs. Unlike the first girl, she's wearing a pair of black shoes instead of the standard ninja sandals. Her hair is the same color as lavender, light purple. It's short, kept in braids that prevent her bangs from obscuring her view, so her forehead is really showing. She has this neutral look on her face that really shows her capability to keep her composure in check. And currently, she's scratching the smudges off from her forehead protector that she fashions as a collar protector.
The last one is… more or less about his height, not taller or shorter. She has a gentle smile on her face, increasing her feminine features even more. She wears a long sleeved purple sweater, a green olive vest over it. It seems that the sweater is a little bit too tight for her, considering how much it's emphasizing her womanly assets. She wears a pair of short tan hot-pants, and unlike the rest of her companion, she does not wear socks or leggings or anything like that. So she has her creamy white thighs in full view. She too, like the shortest of the group, wears footwear that is not the standard issue ninja sandals. Her hair is a gentle mix between yellow and cream, giving it a rather soft complexion. She does not tie her hair in any fashion, as she simply lets them fall straight free. She wears a white beanie cap over it, a pink pin with a character design that Naruto can't really inspect is printed over it. She too has a forehead protector, but she's tied it over her bicep.
Naruto's first reaction upon seeing that he has three approaching females who happen to be ninjas is… lacking, but he still wonders what they might want in a training ground that's famous for being unmaintained. The first girl is the first one to reach to him, hopping over with her grin so wide that it could probably tear her face apart.
"Hey, what's your name?" She asks, brimming with glee.
Naruto pushes his glasses further into the bridge of his nose. "Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. Pleased to meet you." he makes a nodding gesture to show that he acknowledges their presence.
"Naruto…? Well, I'm Aya!" the cheerful girl introduces. "Hirano Aya, but you can call me Aya-chan, mister hottie." Her grin shows no sign of fading.
"Hottie…?" he looks around, left and right, before tilting his head with a confused expression his face. "I don't feel or see anything that might give off the feeling of heat, aside from the sun." But it's evening, it's already fairly cold.
Aya giggles, before bursting into a full grown laughter. She slaps her knee several times, before calming back down. "Not only he's a hottie, he's funny too!" she is suddenly in front of him, hands grasping his firmly. "Ne, wanna be my hubby?"
That question emits two different reactions from her friends. The shortest one does a spit take, while the beanie cap wearing one giggles. The one with the lavender hair grimaces, inching away from her loud friend. "Oi, oi… I know that you're a flirt but this is way more advanced than what you usually do." She then pays attention to the blonde. "My name's Yonaka Kato, and don't mind my flirt of a friend over here." Despite her short stature, she's still strong enough to pull Aya away from Naruto.
"Aww…Kato-chi, but he's so cute though!" Aya whines at being separated from the blonde.
"Sure, that's what you said with the other fifty or so guys you've hit on the past few months." Kato rolls her brown eyes, still holding her tall friend by the arm. "Just leave the poor kid be, he's probably here in the middle of his training and you've disturbed him."
The one that has yet to speak suddenly giggles, trotting over with a kind smile on her face. "But you have to agree with Aya-chan, Kato-chan, he is pretty cute." She takes a step forward, standing directly in front of the blonde. She does a polite curtsey, one that her friends have failed to show. "Pleased to meet you, I am Minase Hibiki and these are my friends."
Naruto nods, still unsure of how to respond upon meeting this particular group. He can make a few assumptions. Judging by the fact that they are in a group of three, not wearing any flak jacket that a chunin or jonin would normally wear, he determines that they are genin ranked kunoichi. Still, that does not answer as to why they're here. Since they are genin, they have the permission to use the other better maintained and pristine training grounds, so it's a wonder why they are here.
"Hey, Naruto-kun," Aya's cheerful voice breaks the silence of his mind. "What were you doing here?"
Seeing as that's expected, Naruto has already got an answer. "Training ninjutsu." He answers as briefly as he could.
"Eh… ninjutsu?" she asks in awe. "Man, that's so cool! Our sensei won't let us do any kind of jutsu and all she's making us do is climbing trees and all that! She said that we're not ready to do anything like that yet, bah!"
Kato sighs. "Hey, hey. If Miya-sensei hears you talking like that about her, you'll be tied, gagged and thrown into the male side of the hotsprings, you know?"
Naruto blinks. What kind of sensei would do that?
However, despite how cruel and downright mean Kato's reasoning can be, Hibiki giggles. "That's true, Aya-chan, so don't let her catch you speaking like that."
Pressed on, Aya can only pout at the fact that both of her friends are against her. "Fine! Besides, she's not here anyway, it's not like she can hear us speak while she's on the other side of the village eating those balls of diabetes she calls food!"
Again, Kato sighs, but she won't reprimand her friend again. "Say, Naruto-san, where is your forehead protector?"
Naruto does not look responsive or anything, but he still answers. "I don't have one."
"Eh?" that's Aya. "What do you mean you don't have one?"
"Exactly what I meant." Naruto replies stoically. "I don't have one because I'm not yet a ninja. I will be graduating this year, in several months in fact."
This fact shocks the trio a little bit, but they all adjust to it quickly.
"My, someone as young as you is already training in ninjutsu even though you're still in the academy?" Hibiki asks with little wonder. "Looks like our parents are wrong for saying that our generation is getting lazier."
"Speaking of which," Aya speaks again, her grin returning. "what kind of ninjutsu were you doing?"
And he has failed to keep the matter untouched.
Surprisingly for the three genin, Naruto shakes his head. "Nothing really impressive, just… Bunshin making exercise."
As it turns out, his answer is more of a surprise. "B-Bunshin making exercise…?" Kato mumbles out, uncertain on how to react.
There's chakra control exercise, where you balance a leaf on your forehead using your chakra. They are taught this in the academy. There's also normal weapons training exercise, where you throw or use a particular weapon to increase your adaptability in using it. This is also taught in the academy. But Bunshin making exercise… not only does the name sound weird, but the concept itself is weird too.
"Oh, may I ask why are you doing that?" And Hibiki just has to bring it to the table.
"I theorize that by repeatedly using the Bunshin technique, I can develop it as a second nature to me." The bespectacled boy starts. "I want to make it into a reflex where should a fight start, I would already automatically perform a Bunshin to aid me in combat." He says. He would elaborate that further, but he really sees no reason in doing that. "Is that satisfactory?"
The three girls, a little bit put-off at Naruto's robot like response, can only nod at the same time; Hibiki chuckles awkwardly. This is their first time meeting someone like Naruto, so they do not know how to react. However, unfamiliarity does not get in the way of Aya's natural friendliness and eagerness to make friends.
"Satisfactory? That's boring!" it is as seem that this girl does not have the word 'rude' in her dictionary, or a dictionary at all in the first place. She, without the consent of the blonde, wraps one arm around the boy's neck; her other one position in front of them as if she's making Naruto pay attention to the sky.
"Lookie here buddy. This life… this. life." She greatly emphasizes the last two words by the use of repetition. "is short." She says in an 'oh so serious' tone that make Kato slap herself right on the face. "So, since it's short, you gotta do all the crazy things that you could think off before it runs out! Capiche?"
Naruto finds it hard to reply. "Ca…piche…?"
"Da's good." Aya grins. She then catches scent of something good smelling, and notices that it happens to be Naruto's hair. Since the smell is so good and irresistible, she begins to sniff him out, pulling him close to her so that she can get a good whiff of his hair. "Hey, you smell nice!"
Naruto is inwardly surprised at the sudden compliment, but does not show it. "Thanks."
Hibiki giggles at seeing the lack of reaction from the boy and her active friend as she's sniffing the shorter blonde. Hibiki has to admit, Aya has good taste in boys. She too then trots over, her hand on her back while having a chipper expression on her face. "Ne, ne, can I smell you too?"
One of his eyes widen slightly at the odd request. "Sure." There's no harm in sniffing, right?
Hibiki leans forward, slowly inhaling through her nose in order to get a whiff of the nice smelling smell that Aya's fixated about. Her eyes widen in mild surprise, somehow not believing that Aya's true. "Wow, you're right Aya-chan, he smells nice." She proceeds to inhale even more.
Kato can only slap herself on the face even harder when she finds out that the voice of reason in the group has joined in on the silly antics. "I'm so embarrassed, I'm so embarrassed… why do I have a secret pervert and a shameless flirt as my friends?" she is repeating this like it is some sort of mantra.
"Here Kato-chii, you try."
"No, wai-"
Kato is not given time to object when Aya's longer and bigger hand grabs her by her hand before forcefully shoving her to the boy. With an 'oomph!' Kato crashes right into the taller boy's abdomen, wincing at how hard it is. Since she is about a head shorter than him, she can still smell the shampoo's scent that is lingering on his hair by placing her chin on his shoulder, she does not intend for this to happen, but once she catches scent of his scent, she cannot remove herself from the boy.
"Hey… this is… not bad." Kato mumbles, finding herself sleepy as she leans herself against the taller boy.
Naruto finds himself restricted physically, with three older girls covering his front and both left and right side; latching to him as they focuses their nose on his hair. He then realizes how abnormal this scenario is to a normal person, but it's not like there's nothing he can do to make them stop. Well, he could just say that they're bothering him, but that would make the message come across as rude. And… his Jii-chan told him, when he was younger, not to be rude to people; especially the ones you have just met. He takes that lesson to heart, thus making his situation even more inevitable.
"What. The. Hell?"
His savior comes in the form of another X-chromosomed individual who he happens to know.
Needless to say, Sayuri is not very happy when she sees her childhood friend being treated like some sort of hug pillow.
Having relocated to a more suitable place for conversation, they are divided into two groups. Aya, Kato and Hibiki are sitting on one side of the sofa while Sayuri and Naruto are sitting right across. The only thing that separates them is the table that is used to eat their food on and since this is a café, they don't really order much. Tension is obvious, but most of the hostility is coming from Sayuri directed to the three girls who seems to be pressured by the younger girl's murderous glare.
"W-Well!" Hibiki is the one to break the ice, but she sinks back down to her seat when Sayuri's cutting edge glare is strictly aimed at her. "…eh… fo-forget it…"
Even the normally cheerful Aya, finds herself nervous in the Uchiha's hostile presence. It's obvious for the three of them that the blonde and the black haired beauty has a thing going on between the both of them, and what they did in the training ground only serves as a proof that might lead them deeper into their graves. However, the brown haired girl stutters as she tries to get a conversation going on.
"E-Eh… hi there… you must be Naruto-kun's friend." She knows that 'friend' would be an understatement, but she's not looking to look like a smartass and rile the girl up even more.
Sayuri bites back a growl, but that still does not stop her from doubling the level of her glare at the three girls, who shrieks at being subjected to it.
Since both of her two friends are out for the count, Kato attempts to converse with the Uchiha. "L-Look here, miss…"
"Uchiha." She hisses. "Uchiha Sayuri."
Kato gulps down air, hard. "Miss Uchiha. Uh… what me and my teammates did was wrong, we, we know." She tries to justify her and the rest of their actions. "How-However, uh… it's… well, um…"
Both Aya and Hibiki begin to sweat, completely nervous since the normally calm and composed Kato is not capable of talking straight and explaining things clearly to their aggressor. Naruto is quietly reading a book that Sayuri has provided him with the moment they entered the café, and he's happily reading through the twentieth page. However, it does not take a bomb going off to make him notice of the obvious tension between the women. He is fully aware of how… protective Sayuri can be about him, but he's sure that Aya, Hibiki and Kato didn't mean any harm.
So he comes to their defense.
"Sayuri, it's fine." He says, closing his book after marking the page for him to read later and setting it aside.
Immediately, the black haired Uchiha's aggressive features soften, before relaxing into that of her normal unreadable expression. "…fine."
All three genin let out a breath of relief when Naruto has managed to, somehow, calm the hostile Uchiha down in only three words. But, they are not able to contain their surprise when Sayuri grabs the blonde by the collar, making their faces just inches away from each other.
"You… you're hurting me, Naru." Sayuri says almost emptily, her voice quiet, only a decibel loud.
Naruto's features do not change. "Am I?"
Sayuri bites her lower lip, before steadily letting her childhood friend go from her firm grip of his collar. Naruto may not notice it, but the three girls present sure do when Sayuri scoots away from the blonde, her head lowered, preventing anyone from seeing her eyes and overall expression.
An awkward silence flies by, and it seems that it's here to say.
Hibiki tries to break the silence one more time. "W-Well, I think that it's best for us to leave…"
"No." this surprises all four girls, but only Sayuri's the one who does not show it. Naruto pushes his glasses deeper into the bridge of his nose, before crossing his arms. "I… wish to ask you three several questions." He pauses. "If you don't mind."
The trio really wants to get out from there due to the awkward atmosphere that they have built up, but somehow, they just can't. So, they sit back down.
Naruto immediately voices his question. "As a genin, what do you usually do as a part of your daily routine?"|
As expected, neither three expect that question from here. This somehow manages to make all three of them relax. Aya, being the most active one out of the three, naturally speaks. "Well…" she scratches her cheek, her voice tamer than usual. "We train regularly, if that's what you're asking?"
"Are there particular types of training that you do?" the glasses wearing blonde asks, blinking several times.
"We do chakra exercises and team building practices most of the time, why are you asking?"
"…No." Naruto shakes his head. "It's just that, I thought that this is a great chance to ask a senior ninja several questions that may be useful for the future." He's talking about his future career as a shinobi.
"I see… well, whaddaya wanna know more about?" Aya asks.
Naruto begins to ask the three girls several questions, ranging from training methods to missions. It's only natural that they answer him, and their answer satisfies the blonde. Though they really do not tell much, Naruto still gets what he needs to know from them and that is enough for him. Until it's time for departures, Naruto never stops pestering the older girls for questions.
"Then… eh… see you again, Naruto-kun." Aya laughs wryly as she and her two teammates exit the café, leaving the bespectacled boy alone on his seat with his childhood friend beside him.
If there's to be one, unfortunate soul left sitting amidst the two childhood friend, then he or she is in for an awkward moment. Even between the two normally well-known quietest pair, the air that's going on between them is a little bit too quiet. Neither Naruto nor Sayuri speaks, the former is staring at nothing in particular while the latter is still sitting with her head lowered down. With the uncomfortable air between them and the café's already quiet atmosphere, it gets even gloomier.
"…"
Naruto does not miss it. "What's that?"
"I hate you."
She ups, walks, and leaves.
Naruto sits there, completely motionless with his eyes staring at air and mind drifting away. He wants to reach for his book, but his hands won't move. He tries to stand up and catch up to Sayuri, but his legs feel numb. He wants to take a look at the spot where she exits, but his head won't budge. He can only sit there, silent, helpless as the café's stereos begin to play a rainy, evening jazz.
3 days later…
Sayuri is not home today… again.
It's been three days ever since their cold war and he hasn't seen her since then. However, it's good that she's still attending the academy, but she won't talk or sit next to him like usual. The other students began circulating rumor about him finally 'breaking up' with his childhood friend, while those who are sharper suspect them having a fight. Technically, it's not a fight.
It's just another of his mistake and incapability of socializing with others.
He's not dumb. He knows that there is some sort of misunderstanding going on, and it has something to do with jealousy. He'll be honest when asked, yes, he knows that Sayuri likes him more than a friend. More than a childhood friend, perhaps. He knows that the way he acted in the café may seem like he's defending Aya and her friends instead of his more trustworthy childhood who he spent his entire childhood with. However, it was not all his fault. Why feel jealous? Why must she feel jealous when he's conversing with three other girls who he barely even knows about? Was it because due to the little scene in the training ground? If so, why?
He can only sit here, in the same café where their cold war unwillingly started.
"Here. On the house." the barista, the one who makes the coffee, places a cup of steaming hot coffee in front of him. "Love hurts kid, but there's nothing a good cup'o Joe can't do to wash it away."
Naruto's eyes drift towards the seemingly, endless pool of black that hides his reflection. He sighs, before reaching for the cup. He takes a sip, nearly spitting it out.
"…bitter."
"You… you're hurting me, Naru."
The grimace on his lips thinned out, leaving a small but sincere frown present on his face. He stands, grabs his book, leaves a tip and then heads toward the door.
He needs advice.
"…and that's it, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen strokes his beard. He never thought the day that Naruto would consult him with his personal life would come as soon as this… he never thought. Now, how will he do this…? Obviously, he will need to be direct with Naruto and tell him that what he did was wrong, but knowing how the boy acts, he will only demand more reason and answers as to why. He's too old for this…
"…A complicated situation indeed Naruto-kun." Hiruzen mumbles, stroking his beard again. "I'll be honest with you," screw it, he'll be as direct as he wants here. "it's your fault ninety nine percent."
Naruto's stoic gaze somehow looks incredulous. "…that much?"
"That much." Hiruzen confirms with a firm nod.
"…then what's the other one percent?"
The old Kage waves his hand. "It has something to do with you being you, but that's not exactly your fault either." Hiruzen utters the last part softly, so that only he could hear it. "In any case, have you made any attempt in making up yet? You two are so close, it's only natural that you make up after all this."
Naruto shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "I… made some attempt, but Sayuri… she would always have this untouchable feeling around her, this isolation." He's no longer hiding his discomfort, as his normally emotionless face is now showing… helplessness. "It's as if we're strangers."
Hiruzen has heard of many hollow sounding words, but none compared to Naruto's. Hiruzen knows just how important Naruto's and Sayuri's relationship is; it might just be even more important than their career as ninjas and their village combined. They are the perfect pair, always trusting, always healing… but hurting is unavoidable. Hiruzen knows that one day a fight will happen between the two, but for it to be this serious… maybe it would have been better if he hadn't think of that.
Hiruzen is a Kage, his main duty is to protect and maintain peace for his village, his people. But he is also an old man with a family, and Naruto is one. His entire village is his family. And it is his duty, next to being a Kage, to help his family members who are in trouble. The aged Sarutobi leans his head back slightly, tilting his view upwards to the ceiling of the office. It's at times like these where he's actually glad to be old, because at least, like this, he can share his wisdom and experience to the young ones like Naruto without actually sounding hypocritical.
"Tell me, Naruto-kun, what if… what if you see Sayuri-chan being… hugged by three other boys who are about your age even though they are merely talking?" suddenly, Naruto is brought up a question that he never expects.
The bespectacled boy blinks, tilting his head. "…Sayuri will never allow anyone to do that. She'll cut them."
Hiruzen chuckles warmly, shaking his head in amusement. "True, but she will only let one person do that."
Naruto remains confused.
"You."
Still confused.
"Naruto… you are smart." Hiruzen speaks. "No, boy, you are a genius. You are one of the brightest gem that Konoha could produce; you along with Sayuri-chan. But unlike her, you're jaded by doubt."
The old Kage stands.
"Naruto-kun, it seems that you need to learn a little bit more about values."
The boy's eyes narrow analytically. "Value… a person's worth? Price?"
Hiruzen hums. "Not in the financial sense, no." he shakes his head. The Fire Shadow places a wrinkled hand on his left chest, just where his heart is in. "But the value that's in here."
Naruto can only stare in silence.
Hiruzen, despite the boy's confusion, still smiles.
"Remember when I told you that we ninjas have a heart, Naruto-kun?" he sees the boy nodding. "The value that I'm talking about comes from there, the heart. What are these values, you might ask… these values are precious. Based on these values, people will judge you. Based on these values, you will grow. Based on these values, you will become a great ninja. Loyalty, honesty, faith, kindness, love, patience, commitment, devotion, friendship… these are some of the values that we have. Though it is true that as ninjas we may have to abandon some of them, but it is our duty as a person to try and reflect these values."
"You may lack some of them, but Sayuri-chan, she has managed to see them all. She knows your loyalty; she knows that you are willing to do anything for your village. She knows your honesty; she knows that you can't tell direct lies. She knows your faith; she knows that as long as it remains true, you are still yourself. She knows your kindness; she knows just how well you treat others despite how introverted you've made yourself look like. She knows your love; she knows that you care for the person you've met dearly. She knows your patience; she knows what irks and pleases you. She knows your commitment; she knows just how hard you practice in order to be a good ninja. She knows your devotion; she knows how much time you spend reading your book each day. She knows your friendship; she knows that you two are friends. The best of friends."
"But Naruto-kun," Hiruzen asks, softly. "do you know what her values are?"
At that very moment, Naruto felt his stomach sinks in. It's different from the one experienced from feeling fear. It's much, much worse. It appeared due to realization and shame, disappointment in oneself of the highest degree. It's the kind of feeling that makes him want to punch himself repeatedly, dig a hole, and burying himself inside said hole to never come back up again.
"Do you know her honesty? Do you know her faith? Do you know her kindness? Do you know her love? Do you know her patience? Do you know her commitment? Do you know her devotion? Do you know her friendship?" Hiruzen's words are like mental, invisible punches that Naruto feel crushing his lungs.
Naruto is so immersed in self-pitying that he fails to notice the hand that Hiruzen has placed on his right shoulder. "Naruto, there are two best thing that you could do right now. The first thing is to do what you can do and succeed, the second best thing is to do it and fail. The worst that you could do is to do nothing at all."
A little push is what he needs.
"Go, Naruto-kun, get your friend back. And apologize."
Without hesitation or words, Naruto hurries outside.
Hiruzen smiles. "Sometimes, I don't envy the young."
"Hey."
She opens both eyes and no surprise, she's facing face to face with her childhood friend.
It's… strange. Weird. Normally, it's her who would start the conversation between the two of them. So hearing Naruto speak in an attempt to spark a talk, it's strange even for her. Key word is 'attempt', since she is not going to give him the satisfaction of making her talk easily.
"I… figured that you'd be here." She hears him mumble. "This is your house, after all."
That's right. Ever since their cold war began, she has been living in her old home for obvious reasons. She sees him standing, unmoving right underneath her door frame. She sees an unfamiliar expression on his face, one that she can't really discern or find out. However, one thing she can tell is that he ran all the way to here from wherever he's been. The sweat gathering on his forehead, the sweat spots on his orange t-shirt and slight panting of his lungs.
"I…" for once, she sees him struggling to speak. He swallows down air, hard. "I…"
Silence reigns like a God.
"Come in." she utters.
He steps inside, slips out from his sandals and placing them neatly on the rack. She walks inside with him following behind her in silence. How will he do this? This… this is the first time he's conflicted with foreign feelings that are alien to him and strong at the same time. He does not know how to do this? However, he must apologize. He will apologize.
She leads him into the living room where they usually spend their time in whenever he'd stop by in her house. But this time, it seems like there's this thick wall of ice separating them and preventing them from interacting.
Sayuri takes her place opposite of him, a table in the middle marking the border. Her silence is her way of saying that she wants to hear what Naruto has to say for her. And, thankfully, Naruto catches the meaning.
"Sayuri, I…" he struggles again. It's not the apology that's hard, so what is it? "I… I…"
He gulps one last time.
"I'm sorry."
But he does not stop there.
"I'm… I'm not sensitive, no. In fact, I'm dense. I… find it hard to take other's opinion of me into consideration, I have a hard time in socializing, I'm not good with making friends, it seems that all I enjoy is reading, I rarely talk, I prefer silence, I'm not so keen towards others, I hurt you, I made us fight, I…" he is nearly at the edge of his seat. "I… I don't…. I don't want this to continue. Sayuri, I… you know that I'm not good at things that relates with consideration. But I want to try and be considerate, not only to you, but to others and myself. I promise to try and listen to others even more, I won't read books in the middle of lectures anymore, I'll try to pay attention to people more, and I'll… I'll… I'll share my cookies when the old man visits."
It's hard, seeing him like this. His… stoic self, somehow, breaking down into this panicked and clueless boy who has never been into a fight with a friend… it's almost pitiful.
Naruto… is a lonely boy. Before she met him, he literally has no friends to talk to. All that he has are the books he has with him, nothing more and nothing less. He immerses himself in literature to make up for what he lacks, human interaction. Sayuri knows this. And she realizes that, due to this condition, it prevents him from really… thinking normally. It's not desensitized… no… it's not his fault for becoming insensitive.
"I'm sorry Sayuri, I…" his shoulders visibly slumps. "I'll do my hardest to change, I promise."
"…Don't."
He looks up.
"Don't ever change."
She lunges at him, catching him by surprise. He can feel the tears soaking on his shirt already the moment she buries her face to his chest.
"Don't… change… you can hurt me, make me cry… but don't ever change."
Right there in her tearful embrace, Naruto realizes something. Sayuri does not want him to stop reading books, be a perceptive person or be more active socially. No. All that she wants is for him to be his usual self, spend time with her and be Uzumaki Naruto, not some eccentric, well-liked, shounen protagonist who has to smile in order to get the girls swooning. He stood there under she stops crying, stroking circles on her back until she's calmed down.
When she is silent, Naruto attempts to speak again. "Sayuri, I-"
"Shh…" her muffled shush seeps through his shirt. "You're not supposed to talk at a time like this."
"But my question-"
"About what? My feelings? Our fight?" her voice is muffled by his shirt and chest. "Naru… you're a smart boy, it's obvious that you know my feelings. And about our fight… it's not your fault, I was just being jealous." She admits shamelessly.
"…But I need to answer them."
Her jaw clenches. "…No. Don't." this time, she pulls her face away from him, pushing herself away from him. She purses her lips, kneeling just several distances away from him. "Don't answer them yet…" all it ever was, is a whisper. "I'm… I'm not ready to get my heart broken."
He stares helplessly at the equally helpless girl, speechless.
Sayuri wipes her eyes clear of tears, putting up a smile. "I'm… I'm not ready to hear your answer yet, Naru. Please, tell me when we are older." She leans forward, her forehead touching his, their noses brushing against each other. "For now, let's continue on being a pair of childhood friend that spends time together, hurt each other, and sometimes fight."
He closes his eyes, eyeglasses on the edge. "…Alright."
"Good."
She kisses him.
When their lips touch, it's the same feeling as having electricity coursing through their bodies. The first contact is shocking, and the rest is inseparable. The kiss still resumes for more than a second, two seconds and three seconds. To Naruto, it's another whole new feeling. He knows about kisses, yes, some of the books he reads have those in them. But for him to experience kissing in the flesh… it's really indescribable. He feels something poking his lips, something soft, wet and warm. It takes no more than a second for him to realize that it's in fact Sayuri's tongue.
Carelessly, he opens his mouth for her entrance, and they engage in a sloppy, amateurish, first-time make out session. He feels her hand raking up his hair, chest pressing against his, and slop getting messy all over his chin. There's this heat emanating from Sayuri's chest, or is it his? Either way, for some reason, his hands return her gesture by pulling her body closer to his until they're on the floor with her on top of him. They parted for air, but that's just about it. Sayuri's lead is almost natural, as if she's born to do this for him.
Her moth lets out an octave moan that sends shivers down his spine, as his hands snake its way down to her waist, resting there. He nearly gasps when Sayuri grinds hips against him, an action that catches him by surprise. She becomes fiercer, her hands began to grip his hair in a desperate gesture that increases her erotic visuals even more. She overcomes him in strength, straddling him by putting her full weight on his abdomen with her lips never separating from his.
Their session continues, and Sayuri is already intoxicated.
'God… I think… I think… I think I'm going to get addicted to this.' her inner machination begins to roam wild. Sultry, she pulls away from their lip lock with a loud and intentional breathy gasp. She makes sure that he gets a taste of her breath before she leans back. She now sits on top of him, on his abdomen. She picks up his glasses, wearing it over her eyes. She stares at her childhood friend, whose hair a mess after all the rough handling she pulled against it. She grabs him by his shirt, lifting him up to a seated position, changing their position so that he's sitting on his laps now.
They resume their lip lock and, if anything, Sayuri's more surprised at how Naruto's not resisting even a little bit.
She's not complaining.
Her hands prevent his lips from ever separating from hers as she hugs him by the neck in a firm grip. She can feel the male instincts in Naruto rising, as she feels his hands beginning to roam around her thighs. She gasps when she feels his slightly bigger hands going up her waist, tracing her bodyline.
"Bad Naru." She licks his nose. "Well, I'm bad too, so keep going." That's the longest she's spoken ever since they've entered this session. Frustrated at how slow his hands are going, she grinds her body on him once again, hoping that it will fuel his libido. And it works.
Naruto gets bolder, somehow becoming uncharacteristically braver than usual. He tugs the loose shirt she's wearing, causing the wearer to yelp in pain. "Hey, Naru, sto-uuumpphh!" his mouth silences her. He pulls away from her mouth quickly, and aims for her collarbone. Sayuri is not expecting the assault, so she cries in surprise. Naruto traces his tongue all the way back to her lips, slithering her neck, jaw and chin with his drool.
As his dominance starts to show, his strength grows. Now it's him who's pinning her down on the tatami matted floor. He can feel Sayuri's fingernails digging themselves deeper to his back and her grip on his hair increasing. Their body heat is conjoint, forming one optimal temperature.
He winces when she bites his lower lip, it does not help when he's bleeding. But the taste of blood, saliva and their sweat mixing makes it all the more enjoyable.
They continue until morning
"…"
She's such a hypocrite.
"For now, let's continue on being a pair of childhood friend that spends time together, hurt each other, and sometimes fight."
A huuuuuuge hypocrite.
First thing first, no, they did not cross the line. Thankfully. If that happened, then she doesn't know how she'll see herself or Naruto again. Her head turns to the side, where her childhood is sleeping peacefully like a baby right on the other side of her bed. She notices the state of clothing… or the lack of any. Her shirt is loose, with all the pulling, attempted tearing and gripping, how can it not be? Her hair is a mess, duh. And her breath reeks of Naruto's… that's actually not bad.
"I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'M AN IDIOT." She covers her face with her hands, extremely embarrassed at herself.
"Sayuri…?" a drowsy, still sleepy Naruto, mutters.
"Y-Yes, Naru?" a little bit surprise, Sayuri squeaks. "What is it?"
He does not answer, implying that his brain still needs several second before it can think properly again. "…I'm hungry."
Grinning wryly, the last Uchiha nods. "…Me too, why don't you sleep here while I prepare us some breakfast?"
"Okay."
"What do you wa – on second thought, I only have cereals and milk."
"Is it chocolate milk?"
"It is."
"Then I'll take that. Make sure to warm the milk first." And he's out again.
Sayuri blinks several time, before sighing. "Well, as long as we're not fighting anymore…"
She's still a hypocrite, though. A jealous hypocrite.
Well that's a roller coaster to write. Hope you liked it.